2002 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election

2002 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election

←  1998 2 May 2002 (2002-05-02) 2006  →
All 60 seats up for election to Waltham Forest London Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
Registered	161,138 [1]
Turnout	55,426, 34.40% ( 0.21) [1]
First party Second party Third party   Leader Anthony J. Buckley Unknown Unknown Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Leader since 1998 Unknown Unknown Leader's seat Lea Bridge Unknown Unknown Last election 30 seats, 43.08% 15 seats, 23.36% 12 seats, 31.31% Seats before 30 15 11 Seats won 29 18 13 Seat change 1 3 1 Popular vote 56,420 43,472 48,489 Percentage 36.36% 28.02% 31.25% Swing 6.72 4.66 0.06
Map of the results of the 2002 Waltham Forest council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red and Liberal Democrats in yellow.
Council control before election Labour Council control after election No Overall Control

Elections to Waltham Forest Council were held in May 2002. The whole council was up for election for the first time since the 1998 election. These elections were the first held on new ward boundaries which increased the total number of Councillors by 3, from 57 to 60.

Waltham Forest local elections are held every four years, with the next due in 2006.

Despite losing their majority, Labour were able to continue in administration, in a minority. ^[2]

Background

As part of a major redistricting, Waltham Forest council along with every other Londo Borough Council created new wards, eliminated some and expanded others. The results of this redistricting were as follows: ^[3]

Wards Created

• Hale End and Highams Park - Formed from the entirety of Hale End ward and well as a south eastern section of Larkswood ward.
• Markhouse - Formed from northern section of the St James Street ward.
• William Morris - Formed from parts of Chapel End, High Street, Hoe Street and Lloyd Park wards

Wards Eliminated

• Hale End - Formed part of the new Hale End and Highams Park ward.
• Lloyd Park - Land divided by the Chapel End and Higham Hill wards as well as the new William Morris ward.
• St James Street - Land divided by Hoe Street and Lea Bridge wards as well as the new Markhouse ward.

Wards Expanded

• Endlebury - Increased from 2 seats to 3
• Higham Hill - Increased from 2 seats to 3

In between the this election and the 1998 election, there was only one by-election held, however this did not result in the seat changing parties. In addition to this there was also a seat that became vacant without enough time to hold a by-election to fill it before the local elections. This meant that the council composition just before the election was as follows:

↓

30	15	11	1
Labour	Lib Dem	Conservative	Vacant

Election result

2002 Waltham Forest London Borough Council local elections ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	29	6	7 [n 1]	1	48.33	36.36	56,420	6.72
	Conservative	18	5	2 [n 1]	3	30.00	28.02	43,472	4.66
	Liberal Democrats	13	1	0	1	21.67	31.25	48,489	0.06
	Green	0	0	0		0.00	2.89	4,487	1.19
	London Socialist	0	0	0		0.00	0.79	1,230	New
	BNP	0	0	0		0.00	0.37	567	0.23
	Socialist Alternative	0	0	0		0.00	0.31	486	New
Total		60						155,151

After the election the composition of the council was as follows:

↓

29	13	18
Labour	Lib Dem	Conservative

Ward Results

(*) - Indicates an incumbent candidate

(†) - Indicates an incumbent candidate standing in a different ward

Cann Hall

Cann Hall (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith A. Rayner*	1,590	60.51	3.75
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth J. Philips*	1,574
	Liberal Democrats	Carol A. Southall	1,567
	Labour	Dennis A. Bell	761	28.09	3.72
	Labour	Brian J. Madican	738
	Labour	Andrew J. Lock† [n 2]	697
	London Socialist	Sally A. Labern	165	6.33	New
	Conservative	Jeremy R. Evans† [n 3]	139	5.07	1.14
	Conservative	Mary I. Neilson-Hansen	130
	Conservative	Corinna Vinicombe	127
Registered electors			7,741		203
Turnout			2,657	34.32	3.45
Rejected ballots			5	0.19	0.44
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)

Cathall

Cathall (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Milton A. Martin*	1,104	64.83	2.66
	Labour	Shameem K.A. Highfield*	1,046
	Labour	Terence V. Wheeler*	996
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Neal	323	19.20	1.74
	Liberal Democrats	Peter J.W. Mason	321
	Liberal Democrats	Mark B. Southall	288
	Conservative	Andrew Butler	270	15.97	6.51
	Conservative	Pervalz Akhtar	268
	Conservative	Anne Pryor	217
Registered electors			7,005		407
Turnout			1,767	25.22	0.69
Rejected ballots			10	0.57	0.02
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Chapel End

Chapel End (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert D. Belam*	1,468	55.33	7.65
	Liberal Democrats	Robert A. Carey† [n 4]	1,405
	Liberal Democrats	John R. Macklin	1,341
	Labour	Jack Kaye	744	26.38	3.76
	Labour	Paul E. Redcliffe	642
	Labour	Faiz R. Yunis	623
	Conservative	Nial Finlayson	491	18.29	0.08
	Conservative	Andrea M. Stevenson	454
	Conservative	Karl Lee	448
Registered electors			8,120		295
Turnout			2,699	33.24	5.14
Rejected ballots			16	0.59	0.09
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)

Chingford Green

Chingford Green(3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek B. Arnold*	1,821	56.12	2.08
	Conservative	Michael C. Fish*	1,814
	Conservative	Michael J. Lewis*	1,721
	Liberal Democrats	Henry A. Boyle	664	19.54	2.02
	Liberal Democrats	Joan M. Carder	606
	Liberal Democrats	Ian A. Paterson	595
	Labour	Mary T. Lambert	508	15.42	4.81
	Labour	Elizabeth J. Lee	506
	Labour	James I.A. Payne	458
	BNP	Tracy-Jane Flaxton	308	8.91	New
	BNP	Glenn Hardcastle	259
Registered electors			7,870		1,064
Turnout			3,256	41.37	4.49
Rejected ballots			8	0.25	4.49
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)

Endlebury

Endlebury (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter V. Herrington*	1,959	67.98	5.72
	Conservative	Andrew P.J. Hemsted	1,909
	Conservative	Mladen Jovcic*	1,890
	Labour	Yasmin S. Beg	514	16.85	0.58
	Labour	Azra P. Chaudhry	457
	Labour	Jill M. Renshaw	456
	Liberal Democrats	Violet P. Wells	437	15.17	0.41
	Liberal Democrats	Kathleen G. Mudie	435
	Liberal Democrats	Edward A. Carder	413
Registered electors			7,970		1,701
Turnout			3,020	37.89	3.04
Rejected ballots			7	0.23	0.18
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Forest

Forest (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jane A. Duran† [n 5]	1,253	37.89	16.06
	Labour	Kabal S. Dhillon*	1,239
	Labour	Mohammed F. Rahman*	1,100
	Liberal Democrats	Meher Khan	908	28.20	8.76
	Liberal Democrats	Mohammed Shafiq	893
	Liberal Democrats	Syed A. Hashmi	872
	Green	Rosalind J. Bedlow	395	12.50	New
	Conservative	Julien A.S. Foster	358	10.20	1.11
	Conservative	Raymond E. Luker	317
	Conservative	Richard H. Glah	292
	CPA	Jean I. Farmer	247	7.82	New
	London Socialist	Roland Rance	107	3.39	New
Registered electors			7,954		202
Turnout			2,801	35.22	3.80
Rejected ballots			12	0.43	0.73
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Grove Green

Grove Green (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tarsem S. Bhogal*	1,169	39.05	8.84
	Liberal Democrats	Jeniffer E. Sullivan	1,103	39.09	6.79
	Labour	Christopher A. Robbins	1,081
	Liberal Democrats	Paul K. Olford	1,052
	Liberal Democrats	Neal A. Chubb	1,048
	Labour	Peter F. Woodrow	949
	Green	Helen S. Griffith	265	7.93	3.63
	Conservative	Mohammed Y. Qureshi	235	7.96	0.29
	Conservative	Joan E. Devine	226
	Green	Maureen C.C. Measure	218
	Conservative	Derek R. Pryor	191
	Green	William J. Measure	167
	London Socialist	Thomas W. Taylor	163	5.97	New
Registered electors			8,513		731
Turnout			2,792	32.80	1.46
Rejected ballots			5	0.18	1.09
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Hale End and Highams Park

Hale End and Highams Park (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lesley A. Finlayson† [n 6]	1,396	46.63	New
	Conservative	Matthew T. Davis	1,380
	Conservative	Timothy R. Croot	1,355
	Liberal Democrats	John D. Beanse	1,122	36.57	New
	Liberal Democrats	Mark J. Speed	1,081
	Liberal Democrats	Keith J. Wenden	1,037
	Labour	Yasmin V. Nicholson-St Hill	529	16.81	New
	Labour	Mohammad N. Khan	496
	Labour	Muhammed Y. Rachyal	464
Registered electors			7,800		New
Turnout			3,139	40.24	New
Rejected ballots			3	0.10	New
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Hatch Lane

Hatch Lane (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marion J. Fitzgerald*	1,756	55.20	11.47
	Conservative	Geoffrey A. Walker*	1,664
	Conservative	Laurie Braham*	1,624
	Labour	Claire L. Irvine	855	26.41	10.65
	Labour	Gerard A. Lyons	833
	Labour	Margaret A. Sorungbe	725
	Liberal Democrats	David A. Young	348	10.39	1.40
	Liberal Democrats	Janel R. Hoskins	323
	Liberal Democrats	Jane E. Morgan	278
	Green	Robert F. Tatam	244	8.01	0.58
Registered electors			7,881		372
Turnout			3,050	38.70	3.00
Rejected ballots			8	0.26	0.18
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)

High Street

High Street (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Blunt*	1,654	41.97	5.71
	Labour	Simon J. Wright	1,503
	Labour	Narinder S. Matharoo† [n 7]	1,436
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Wheatley*	1,393	36.05	6.86
	Liberal Democrats	Mohammad S. Diwan	1,331
	Liberal Democrats	Franklyn E. Georges	1,221
	Green	Gary P. Lancet	405	11.10	New
	Conservative	Atta R. Yunis	287	7.29	2.12
	Conservative	Muhammad Shabbir	282
	Conservative	Imran Ulhaq	229
	Communist	Anne M. Kruthoffer	131	3.59	New
Registered electors			8,521		547
Turnout			3,501	41.09	2.39
Rejected ballots			12	0.34	0.37
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Higham Hill

Higham Hill (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter G. Dunphy	1,246	48.42	3.72
	Liberal Democrats	Peter D. Woolcott*	1,231
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Meiszner	1,184
	Labour	Peter J. Barnett	1,101	41.93	6.78
	Labour	Geraldine A. Reardon	1,041
	Labour	Marcia Douet	1,028
	Conservative	Clive S. Alexander	266	9.65	1.11
	Conservative	Darlinton Greenaway	240
	Conservative	Laurance A. Wedderburn	224
Registered electors			7,674		2,792
Turnout			2,676	34.87	1.10
Rejected ballots			15	0.56	0.28
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Hoe Street

Hoe Street (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sylvia A. Poulsen*	1,143	42.70	8.63
	Labour	Mohammed M. Nasim*	1,114
	Labour	Eric G. Sizer*	1,105
	Conservative	Ashgar Ali	559	20.26	3.12
	Conservative	Brian D. Clarke	529
	Conservative	Mohammed Malik	507
	Green	Stephen W. Lambert	463	15.86	1.39
	Liberal Democrats	Morwenna F. Blewett	443	15.54	1.26
	Liberal Democrats	Frank Blewett	408
	Green	Richard I. Burkett	404
	Green	Elena Sproston	382
	Liberal Democrats	Michael A. Harkin	373
	London Socialist	Cecilia I. Prosper	148	5.64	New
Registered electors			8,464		537
Turnout			2,742	32.40	1.26
Rejected ballots			11	0.40	0.35
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Larkswood

Larkswood (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kathleen T. Gosling	1,670	63.09	11.38
	Conservative	John F. Walter*	1,639
	Conservative	Eric G. Williams*	1,601
	Labour	Carolyn M. Brown	595	22.41	10.87
	Labour	John G. Brown	587
	Labour	Gillian A. Leadbetter	562
	Liberal Democrats	Cynthia J. Wenden	386	14.50	0.51
	Liberal Democrats	Geraldine F. McElarney	376
	Liberal Democrats	Graham A. Woolnough† [n 8]	366
Registered electors			8,111		1,975
Turnout			2,752	33.93	3.71
Rejected ballots			5	0.18	0.21
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)

Lea Bridge

Lea Bridge (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anthony J. Buckley*	1,207	53.25	1.38
	Labour	Masood Ahmad	1,126
	Labour	Stella J. Creasy	1,110
	Liberal Democrats	Kay-Lorraine Andrews	536	20.40	7.93
	Conservative	Mohammad Riaz	463	20.79	3.75
	Conservative	Mohammed B. Bhatti	445
	Conservative	Muhammad J. Shah	436
	Liberal Democrats	Ellen R. Sowie	427
	Liberal Democrats	Dave B. Raval	356
	London Socialist	Terry W. Calvert	120	5.57	New
Registered electors			8,810		992
Turnout			2,316	26.29	4.54
Rejected ballots			7	0.30	0.53
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Leyton

Leyton (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Loretta Hodges*	1,593	60.85	11.25
	Liberal Democrats	Robert F. Sullivan*	1,552
	Liberal Democrats	Barry A. Smith	1,494
	Labour	Grace C. Chambers	883	33.12	6.46
	Labour	Crispin R. St Hill	836
	Labour	Nicholas L. Russell	806
	Conservative	Peter B. Smith	174	6.03	3.02
	Conservative	Janet E.A. James	167
	Conservative	Roger A. Wheeler	119
Registered electors			8,240		395
Turnout			2,678	32.50	10.11
Rejected ballots			7	0.26	0.22
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
	Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)

Leytonstone

Leytonstone (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jennifer C. Gray*	1,173	38.11	9.42
	Labour	Ian Leslie* [n 9]	1,154
	Labour	Clyde W. Loakes*	1,106
	Liberal Democrats	Nazir A. Butt	1,027	33.87	4.76
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan H. Fryer	1,014
	Liberal Democrats	John C. Howard	1,010
	Green	Mark S. Dawes	450	14.99	6.00
	Conservative	Patricia Scott	226	7.17	0.95
	Conservative	Carol A. Johns	217
	Conservative	David J. Vinicombe	203
	London Socialist	Susan A. Catten	176	5.86	New
Registered electors			7,814		283
Turnout			2,732	34.96	0.13
Rejected ballots			5	0.18	0.27
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Markhouse

Markhouse (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Diana S. Murray† [n 10]	994	38.55	New
	Labour	Tahir Kamal† [n 10]	934
	Labour	Graham Smith† [n 10]	908
	Conservative	Meharban Hussain	547	21.50	New
	Conservative	Yasin Khan	527
	Conservative	Aftab Iqbal	508
	Green	Judith A. Stubbings	416	16.96	New
	Liberal Democrats	Peter H.S. Hatton	413	16.37	New
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremt R. Dauncey	390
	Socialist Alternative	Louise H. Thompson	177	6.61	New
	Socialist Alternative	Suzanne E. Muna	172
	Socialist Alternative	Kevin G. Parslow	137
Registered electors			8,034		New
Turnout			2,277	28.34	New
Rejected ballots			14	0.61	New
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Valley

Valley (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John M. Gover*	1,570	55.79	10.27
	Conservative	Alan W. Siggers	1,527
	Conservative	David Divine	1,521
	Labour	Margaret L. Broadley*	987	32.93	8.69
	Labour	Aktar Beg	886
	Labour	Gary P. Martin	853
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara E. Young	334	11.28	1.57
	Liberal Democrats	Keith A. Hardy	329
	Liberal Democrats	Shahnaz S. Rashid	271
Registered electors			7,902		352
Turnout			2,925	37.02	7.30
Rejected ballots			7	0.24	0.49
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)
	Conservative win (new boundaries)

William Morris

William Morris (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin J. O'Connor† [n 11]	1,326	52.26	New
	Labour	Liaquat Ali† [n 12]	1,285
	Labour	Jon E. Wilson	1,256
	Liberal Democrats	Jacquline L.C. Tidmarsh	648	23.07	New
	Liberal Democrats	Richard L. Tidmarsh	554
	Liberal Democrats	Aym A. Wadud	505
	Conservative	Rachel A. Bettelley	391	14.29	New
	Conservative	John J.C. Moss	363
	Conservative	Kabir A. Sabar	303
	London Socialist	Lee Rock	256	10.38	New
Registered electors			8,271		New
Turnout			2,552	30.85	New
Rejected ballots			11	0.43	New
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Wood Street

Wood Street (3) ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Angela M. Bean*	1,361	41.95	0.80
	Labour	Paul R. Devaney	1,230
	Labour	Richard C. Sweden	1,187
	Liberal Democrats	Paula C. Claytonsmith	1,021	33.15	3.99
	Liberal Democrats	Lindsay Collier	988
	Liberal Democrats	Mashoodul F. Qureshi	977
	Conservative	Camille T. Alexander	465	14.21	3.01
	Conservative	Jemma L. Hemsted	414
	Conservative	Jude T. Lobendhan	401
	Green	Timothy W. Baker	240	7.53	2.98
	Green	Christine J. Olende	228
	Green	Sallie J. Poppleton	210
	London Socialist	Brenda M.A. Strudwick	95	3.16	New
Registered electors			8,443		145
Turnout			3,094	36.65	1.95
Rejected ballots			8	0.26	0.16
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Notes

1. Includes loses from seats being eliminated
2. Lock was a sitting councillor representing the Grove Green ward
3. Evans was a sitting councillor representing the Valley ward
4. Carey was a sitting councillor representing the Higham Hill ward
5. Duran was a sitting councillor representing the Grove Green ward
6. Finlayson was a sitting councillor representing Hale End ward
7. Matharoo was a sitting councillor representing the Lloyd Park ward
8. Woolnough was a sitting councillor representing the Chapel End ward
9. Leslie was elected in a by-election triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Huw M. Morgan-Thomas in 1998 ^[6]
10. Murray, Kamal and Smith were all sitting councillors representing the St James Street ward
11. O'Connor was a sitting councillor representing the Lloyd Park ward
12. Ali was a sitting councillor representing the High Street ward

References

1. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 2 May 2002 - Ward Voting Statistics" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. p. 206. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
2. "The local elections explained". The Guardian. 4 April 2006.
3. legislation.gov.uk - The London Borough of Waltham Forest (Electoral Changes) Order 2000. Retrieved on 2 March 2015.
4. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 2 May 2002" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. pp. 163–166, 206–207. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
5. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Waltham Forest Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
6. Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections - 2 May 2002 - By-election" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. p. 166. Retrieved 12 October 2025.